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322 Appendix II: 1992 FBI Study of Satanic Ritual Abuse
dren’s credibility will be jeopardized when and if the
information obtained turns out to be unsubstantiated or
false. To minimize this problem, within the limits of the
law and without jeopardizing investigative techniques,
parents must be told on a regular basis how the case is
progressing. Parents can also be assigned constructive
things to do (e.g., lobbying for new legislation, working
on awareness and prevention programs) in order to
channel their energy, concern, and “guilt.”
Develop a Contingency Plan
If a department waits until actually confronted with a
case before a response is developed, it may be too late. In
cases involving ongoing abuse of children, departments
must respond quickly, and this requires advanced planning.
There are added problems for small-to mediumsized
departments with limited personnel and resources.
Effective investigation of these cases requires planning,
identification of resources, and, in many cases, mutual
aid agreements between agencies. The U.S. Department
of Defense has conducted specialized training and has
developed such a plan for child sex ring cases involving
military facilities and personnel. Once a case is contaminated
and out of control, I have little advice on how to
salvage what may once have been a prosecutable criminal
violation. A few of these cases have even been lost on
appeal after a conviction because of contamination
problems.
Multidisciplinary Task Forces
Sergeant Beth Dickinson, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department, was the chairperson of the Multi-Victim,
Multi-Suspect Child Sexual Abuse Subcommittee.
Sergeant Dickinson states (personal communication,
Nov. 1989):
One of the biggest obstacles for investigators to
overcome is the reluctance of law enforcement
administrators to commit sufficient resources early
on to an investigation that has the potential to be a
multidimensional child sex ring. It is important to
get in and get on top of the investigation in a timely
manner—to get it investigated in a timely manner
in order to assess the risk to children and to avoid
hysteria, media sensationalism, and cross-contamination
of information. The team approach reduces
stress on individual investigators, allowing for peer
support and minimizing feelings of being overwhelmed.
The team approach and working together does
not mean, however, that each discipline forgets its
role and starts doing the other’s job.
Summary
The investigation of child sex rings can be difficult
and time consuming. The likelihood, however, of a
great deal of corroborative evidence in a multivictim/multioffender
case increases the chances of a successful
prosecution if the crime occurred. Because there
is still so much we do not know or understand about
the dynamics of multidimensional child sex rings,
investigative techniques are less certain. Each new case
must be carefully evaluated in order to improve investigative
procedures.
Because mental health professionals seem to be
unable to determine, with any degree of certainty, the
accuracy of victim statements in these cases, law enforcement
must proceed using the corroboration process. If
some of what the victim describes is accurate, some misperceived,
some distorted, and some contaminated, what
is the jury supposed to believe Until mental health professionals
can come up with better answers, the jury
should be asked to believe what the investigation can
corroborate. Even if only a portion of what these victims
allege is factual, that may still constitute significant criminal
activity.
Conclusion
There are many possible alternative answers to the question
of why victims are alleging things that don’t seem to
be true. The first step in finding those answers is to admit
the possibility that some of what the victims describe
may not have happened. Some experts seem unwilling to
even consider this. Most of these victims are also probably
not lying and have come to believe that which they
are alleging actually happened. There are alternative
explanations for why people who never met each other
can tell the same story.
I believe that there is a middle ground—a continuum
of possible activity. Some of what the victims allege
may be true and accurate, some may be misperceived or
distorted, some may be screened or symbolic, and some
may be “contaminated” or false. The problem and challenge,
especially for law enforcement, is to determine
which is which. This can only be done through active
investigation. I believe that the majority of victims alleging
“ritual” abuse are in fact victims of some form of
abuse or trauma. That abuse or trauma may or may not
be criminal in nature. After a lengthy discussion about
various alternative explanations and the continuum of
possible activity, one mother told me that for the first
time since the victimization of her young son she felt a
little better. She had thought her only choices were that
either her son was a pathological liar or, on the other
hand, she lived in a community controlled by satanists.
Law enforcement has the obvious problem of
attempting to determine what actually happened for
criminal justice purposes. Therapists, however, might
also be interested in what really happened in order to
properly evaluate and treat their patients. How and
when to confront patients with skepticism is a difficult
and sensitive problem for therapists.